Couponing 101 - Kirsten's style!

I was reading online recently that people don't coupon because you can't buy healthy foods and still save money with coupons.  This bugged me.  I do admit that if you just get coupons out of the newspaper you won't be able to save any money, but if you plan you can save money.  Another complaint that people have is "I don't have time to coupon".  I do 98% of my couponing when I am sitting on the couch watching TV, which I would most likely be doing anyways, heck I watched 1245 episodes of ONE TV show, so you know I spend a lot of time on the couch.  So I am going to detail for you how I save money on our grocery bills.  I will admit I am not an extreme couponer, I have never gotten $500 worth of food for $1 or had the grocery store owe me money, but I almost always get 40-50% off of my grocery bills.

1) Plan - This one is harder for us, my husband and I eat very differently and it can be hard for me to envision what I should eat next Wednesday, but I plan as much as possible and I make sure I know what my husband needs.

2) Clip Coupons - After making a general grocery list, I take the Sunday paper out and look for coupons.  I do not cut every coupon, just the ones that I know I will use.  I don't want to waste my time or space in my couponing binder for coupons on laundry detergent when I will never use it.  

3) Ibotta, Saving Star, Checkout 51, Snap, Receipt Pal, Shopmium, etc - These apps are amazing!  My first stop after clipping coupons is go through these apps and see if anything on my list aligns with the deals in these apps.  This can essentially be double couponing if you have a coupon for something and can get more money from these apps.  What you do is search for the store you are buying the items from, and there is a list of different items that are available and you "unlock" these items.  You unlock them by usually watching a short video or answering questions and then after you have purchased the items you scan the barcode and upload the receipt!  Easy!!  Also, these apps almost always have fruits, vegetables, milk, bread, bacon, etc., listed as deals so your savings can really soar.  Most weeks I get Bananas and Apples for FREE!!

4) Your local grocery store app - My local grocery store is Safeway and they have been really good to us, for a while we ended up on their VIP customer list and got a boatload of gas and grocery discounts.  I have no clue how that happened, but it was really great.  Now, I always check the Safeway Just for You section to make sure everything that I may even consider buying is checked.  This savings comes right off when you pay, it is linked to your loyalty rewards card.  Plus, you earn gas rewards at most grocery stores now and if you buy certain items your rewards can double or triple!!

5) Cash - This is a big one for me, about 2 years ago when the big retailers started getting hacked I decided that I would use cash only from now on.  I was worried that since I started carrying cash I would spend it quicker so I decided to get a notebook and write down all of my spending and it really made me second guess every purchase.  I don't want to have to write down $5 milkshake, that is embarrassing and something that I just don't need.  So I have really curbed my spending this way.  A great way that cash works in grocery shopping/couponing is emotional or mental, when the final total comes up on the screen lets say it's $120, I always pull out that amount then the club card savings comes up and the coupons and I always get to put money back in my wallet.  It just feels nice to put $20, $40, $60 back in my wallet.  It is a little boost after spending so much.  I have a lot more to say about using cash only but that will be all for now.

So that is a little overview of my grocery shopping habits.  I will go into more depth in later posts, but I wanted to hold firm to my title and not lose everyone with my Dark Shadows rantings and ravings.  

Have a great Monday everyone!!